In an interview after the war Miep Gies talked about why she helped the people in hiding:

I was able to help those people. They were powerless, and they didn’t know where to turn. I always emphasise that we weren’t heroes. We simply did our duty as h‘uman beings: helping others who were in need. A lot of people didn’t do that in those times: some out of fear. If someone is afraid then you can hardly blame them. If they can honestly admit that, as a friend of mine did back then, then I think that’s brave.’